Ambrose Women for Social Justice
Annual Social and Economic Justice Lecture Series
“‘Women and Work”
1:30 and 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010
Rogalski Center on the St. Ambrose University campus
“Transformation of Identity: Becoming a Welfare Mother”
1:30 p.m., Rogalski Center Ballroom
Yvonne Luna, PhD, Assistant Professor of Sociology
Northern Arizona University
Popular conceptions of welfare recipients attribute responsibility for poverty to personal decisions and choices. Dr. Luna will talk about her research investigating the ways welfare mothers covertly and overtly resist these negative constructions.
“'Mommy Needs a Job!': Women Navigating the Public Workforce System”
7:00 p.m., Rogalski Center Ballroom
Mary Gatta, PhD, Professor of Labor Studies and Employment Relations
Rutgers University
Even during one of the largest economic upheavals in US history, the pain of economic distress and poverty has fallen disproportionately on women, and single mothers in particular. Workforce policies that might help develop skills needed to qualify for higher wage jobs often leave women behind. Dr. Gatta has done extensive research with women in poverty, and even posed as a client of the workforce system, gaining powerful insights into this viscous cycle and what might help raise women out of poverty.
The 2010 Ambrose Women for Social Justice Annual Social and Economic Justice Lecture Series is part of the St. Ambrose University “Ubiquity of Work” project, a year-long exploration of the rich complexity of labor, examining the value of intellectual and unpaid work, the connection of spirituality to work, the future of work and how work enriches our experience of life. For more information about these events and the entire Ubiquity of Work schedule, visit the project website.
For more information contact Katy Strzepek, 563/333-6113.